The United States has among the lowest cigarette excise taxes of any developed country. The percent of pack price accounted for by excise taxes has dropped significantly; in 1955, taxes accounted for nearly 50% of the pack price, in 1991, the figure was less than 30%.
Tobacco taxes are one of the few taxes the public supports.
Several states (CA, MA, AZ and others) have enacted excise tax increases and dedicated a portion of the revenue to tobacco control and prevention programs. This is an especially effective strategy.
The tobacco industry opposes efforts to raise taxes because it will decrease smoking, and hence, profit. Typical industry arguments against taxes include that they are regressive (fall most heavily on the poor), they lead to increased smuggling and crime, they represent “big government,” and that they are unfair to smokers. These arguments are designed to obscure the fact that, as the tobacco industry knows, tobacco taxes will decrease consumption. |
